Robert Mugabe

Robert Mugabe (21 February 1924-) was Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 18 April 1980 to 22 December 1987, succeeding Abel Muzorewa and preceding Morgan Tsvangirai, and served as President of Zimbabwe from 22 December 1987, succeeding Canaan Banana.

Biography
Mugabe was a teacher in Zambia and Ghana before he rose to prominence as the leader of the Zimbabwean African National Union (ZANU) during the Rhodesian Bush War in the struggle against the white government of Rhodesia. From 1964 to 1974 he was imprisoned by the United Kingdom as a political prisoner, but after his release he fled to Mozambique and helped to organize guerrilla warfare against the British Army from there. In April 1980, he was elected Prime Minister of Zimbabwe a year after the war's termination, and he established a one-party state with the ZANU as the leading party, while North Korea trained the Zimbabwean Fifth Brigade as the security force of his regime. From 1982 to 1985, 20,000 people were executed in ethnic cleansing, and Mugabe fought against the rival Zimbabwe African People's Union under Joshua Nkomo in Matabeleland and other regions. In December 1987 he was elected President, and he combined the office of President with Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief to have supreme rule over his country. He ruled for over 25 years, becoming the world's oldest living head of state by 2015.